Crossing the T's
by TheLetterProject
Summary: In the 1930s, Tom Riddle is just a boy, Dumbledore is just a teacher, Grindelwald is undefeated and, as it happens, a Potter and a Black are paired together in Potions. / An on-going Letter Project between Dorea Black and Charlus Potter, as James' parents
1. o1 from charlus to dorea

Dorea,

First off, congratulations on the badge -- it goes quite well with the bronze-and-blue patch on the opposite side of your robes. I was rooting for you, you know; the other female prefects seem all to have come down with rather severe cases of being massively annoying, my darling housemate included. I hope having Crouch as Head Boy with you isn't too much hassle, either; his tendency for being self-righteous is made all the more annoying his Slytherin ambition, I find.

Secondly, as we're not in the same house, this joint project for Slughorn may be marginally more difficult. (For the record, I am fairly certain that Slughorn is extorting our abilities, using his NEWT-level class as nothing more than a giant Felix Felicis factory. What sort of project takes six months?) As Quidditch captain I can manipulate the practice schedule as needed (within reason, of course) so I can work around your Head duties if you let me know when those are.

Lastly, it may be a bit obtrusive of me -- I know we've never held any earth-shattering or exceptionally meaningful conversations -- but I couldn't help noticing you looked somewhat dismayed after the arrival of yesterday's owl post. I know it's probably none of my business, by any means, but you see I've made it a sort of general rule to not let pretty girls such as you look dismayed if I can help it. Anything wrong?

Sincerely,

Charlus Potter


	2. o2 from dorea to charlus

Charlus,

Thank you. It is very nice of you to consider my Head Girl assigning as a good choice, as I am apparently not as annoying as my companions, like you say. Perhaps they wouldn't seem to be a bunch of obnoxious prefects if you gave them a chance to, oh, I don't know, get to know them or at least _talk_ to them. But of course, how could I forget, Quidditch players – even less Quidditch _captains_ – don't frequent with prefects, do they? In my opinion, which obviously differs to yours, I think selecting Barty Crouch as a Head Boy is definitely a good one. I am very pleased and looking forward to working with him.

I can promise you I am doing my best not to send you off to the moon, Charlus, for there is something in you that I don't quite understand. However, I am trying and will continue trying my best to get along with you, but do believe me when I tell you that when these six months are over, you and I are done with. No hard feelings. We are just two very different people, that's all. Thanks for offering to change your Quidditch practice schedule, though, I appreciate it. Is Tuesday evening all right with you? The Library, perhaps?

About the letter, you are quite right, it isn't any of your buisness. I do find it amusing that you saw my reaction to the letter, though, from the other end of the Great Hall. What were you doing staring at the Ravenclaw table? I always had the impression you were too hungry in the mornings to tear your gaze from your plate. How strange.

Cordially,

Dorea Black


	3. o3 from charlus to dorea

Dorea, darling,

What hostility! Really, Dorea, I was being sincere, no need to get your hackles up. It's not like I've _never _talked to them, I have -- they're just mostly irritating, is all. There's Faustina -- she's just downright stuck up, something you wouldn't expect for a Hufflepuff -- and Eileen, you've got a point there, I'm not entirely sure I've ever heard her speak -- and believe me, if you shared a Common Room with Proserpine, you'd agree that she's annoying. I'm not trying to typecast prefects, by any means, I was merely ... observing that seventy-five percent of the female prefects in seventh year happen to be irritating. They're not irritating _because _they're prefects, they're merely irritating in addition to being prefects.

Barty Crouch means well, I'm sure, I've heard him lecture underclassmen about the use of Dark Arts, but he's still very overbearing, don't you find? Perhaps it's simply too much Slytherin for my taste; you must be more accustomed to incredibly high levels of ambition.

Come now, Dorea, surely I'm not _that _difficult to get along with? Six months is a long time, you know. Plenty can happen in six months. We may not be as different as you think, you know. It's true that I don't know a lot about you, and what I do know is largely rumour, but I think that makes it fair to assume that we are just as likely to have plenty in common as we are to be forever at odds.

Tuesday evening would be fine. After dinner? Shall we say eight o'clock?

Fair enough, if you don't wish to divulge personal information, I shan't pry. You only looked upset, is all, and it's been my experience that occasionally someone you don't know well is better to talk to than someone you do. To each his own. I hope you're feeling better, though.

And I'm never too hungry to notice a lovely lady in distress.

Sincerely,

Charlus

--


	4. o4 from dorea to charlus

--

Charlus,

Firstly, could you enlighten me as to why is this letter written in the back of a Charms assignment due last week? Ran out of parchment? Honestly. Good job, though; I never managed to get out an Outsanding from Flitwick since ever. Who would have said the little man would be so demanding? Personally, I prefer Transfiguration. Professor Dumbledore, I believe, likes me a fair bit. I can assure you I have got a few Outstandings in_ that_ subject. I wonder why Flitwick likes you so much.

The prefects, they are not awful once you get to know them properly. Most of them, anyway. Besides, one just has to acquaint with them on prefects' meeting, rounds and other rare gatherings. The only other prefect I am good friends with is Concordia Blubber, from Hufflepuff. However, I think you already know her quite well and that my introduction is superfluous. Especially since you have practically eaten her entire face a couple of times.

Barty Crouch may be quite obnoxious but I think it's worth it. He does what needs to do very well. Yesterday he approached me to tell me that he had already finished all of his duties and had gone to ask Dippet what else he could do. A bit eager, isn't he? And frightening, too.

I am not very sure why I just told you that, since it's none of your buisness, but oh well, I will send it either way because _I_have ran out of parchment, and I won't afford throwing this one away.

One thing, Charlus: don't get your hopes up. I am positive you and I have probably nothing in common (and especially not families).

Eight o'clock is fine with me. I'll see you there.

You do well. In not sticking your nose in my buisness, that is.

Yours,

Dorea.

P.S.: Oh, please don't come with that petty one liner. It's so cliché I can't even laugh at it.

P.P.S.: It wasn't my intention to make this letter so long. Like I said before though, don't get your hopes up. I was just trying to avoid my Head duties (but don't you tell anyone). I will most probably just ask Barty Crouch to do them for me. I'm sure he'll be delighted. Don't you?


	5. o5 from charlus to dorea

Dorea,

The Charms assignment? Accident, I suppose, although I'm not averse to reusing bits of parchment. I do it with plenty of casual letters. I'll use fresh parchment if it offends you in some way. It's funny you mention it, though -- I've never found Flitwick to be too bad, but then I'd say Charms is one of my best subjects. (I'll always prefer Defence Against the Dark Arts.) I admit to being slightly offended; is it really so hard to believe I do well in Charms? 

Professor Dumbledore _does _quite like you, I think, though I can't think of too many people Dumbledore doesn't like. He's a great Head of House, though he's sort of creepily omniscient. Do you notice that, or is it just me? It's virtually impossible to get away with anything. I suspect he must be a Legilimens.

Ah, Concordia! Yes, I am rather well acquainted with her. Good girl. We ... have dated, yes, but we're just friends now. I believe her newfound interest is that McKinnon boy.

Crouch is well-intentioned, as I've said, and I have nothing against a good work ethic, I just think he's a little too enthused, is all. I'd hate to be competing aganist him for any sort of job or position, he seems perfectly capable of doing whatever he needs to get a leg up on the competition. It's no wonder Slughorn loves him. Speaking of Slughorn, have you ever been to one of his "parties"? The whole thing strikes me as a little bizarre, to be honest. I suppose it must be good for the Muggleborn students, though, as they wouldn't already have the connections the rest of us do.

Rest assured, I understand the only reason you've divulged this much information is simply to conserve parchment.

Rest assured also that my hopes are securely fastened to the floor, but I do still maintain that it's unlikely we have absolutely _nothing _in common. As for our families -- I know little about yours aside from reputation, so you'd have to enlighten me. That little Slytherin girl, Walburga, is she a close relative of yours?

I'll see you after dinner, then.

Sincerely,  
Charlus

P.S. - Yes, I am sure Crouch would be delighted to do your Head duties for you, though I'd be careful if I were you, as he may mistake it for a sign of weakness or (perhaps worse) a sign of flirtation.

P.P.S. - It may have been cliche, but I'm willing to bet it made you smile, even if only because you were laughing _at _me.


	6. o6 from dorea to charlus

Charlus,

Before I forget, I forgot to give you some papers Dippet asked me to give you before our meeting. I never knew Quidditch Captains had to actually do paper work. I thought all they did was, well, fly. I don't mean to pry or anything of the sort, but what do you have to write about? How long can Weatherby stay on his broom without falling? (No offense to him, though; I know he can be a really good beater when he manages not to fall. The trouble is his_ lower_ body, not his _upper _one. In my humble opinion, he is a fantastic player when, of course, he is not facing downwards. Have you started practising for the next match, by the way? I have heard Hufflepuff's new Captain is training them for hours at a time. My advice: keep an eye open for him. For some reason, I want to see his heart tore into pieces for what he did to me last year.)

But I digress. I suppose I could send you the papers with this letter but I am afraid I don't trust your owl completely to do the entire journey without having something to eat first. When was the last time you fed her? She took a bite off my toast during breakfast even before I realised the owl post had arrived. Besides, if Dippet finds out I lost the papers, he might as well kill me. I am supposed to be Head Girl, after all, responsible, attentive and all that jazz.

It isn't hard to believe you are good in Charms because, truthfully, you are good at the other subjects just as much, but even though _I_ am fairly good at every subject as well, Flitwick never seemed to like me like he likes you, even though he _is_ the Head of _my_ House.

Having Professor Dumbledore as a Head of House, though, must be extraordinary. He seems to know so much about _everything_ (even though there are some times when I wonder if he realises where the line between fact and fiction lays. Everything he says _can't_ be true, can it?) In answer to your question, I don't believe he is a Legiilimens, but if he is, reading people's mind using this charm at school is illegal, and he is a highly respected teacher, so that can't be it. I mean, he can't. He wouldn't do it.

Would he?

Concordia and Emmanuel? Emmanuel McKinnon? Marlene's older brother? Oh no, not at all. He just has a thing for her, that's all. In fact, I think _she_still has a thing for _you_.

And this is where I repeat myself: I honestly do not know why I am telling you this when you are not supposed to know it. If she ever reads this, I will already be six feet under ground.

I have been oftentimes invited to Professor Slughorn's evening gatherings, and have attended most of them. They are.. interesting, sort of, don't you think? I believe I have seen you in one of them, at least.

Walburga is my niece. She is Pollux's only daughter, though I would be surprised if you knew him. He was so delighted she was Sorted into Slytherin... Why do you ask?

Yours sincerely,

Dorea.

P.S: I have decided not to give Barty any of my Head duties for him to do after I got your letter. I am sure he might have seen it as a sign of weakness and I wouldn't want that. I have a feeling he would have behaved in a very obnoxious way if I had given it to him.

P. P. S.: You are, surprisingly, right. Who would have said it?


End file.
